Ignition-distributer



L. ERICSON.

lGNlTlON DISTRIBUTER.

APPLlcATloN FILED FEB.14,1917.

1,385,368. v Patented July 26, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- c: NIIIIIIIIUy Mlm www L. ERICSON.

IGNITION DISTRIBUTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4. 1917.

1,385,368, I Patented July 26, 1921'.

3 sHEETs-sHEET 2.

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L. ERICSON.

IGNITION DISTRIBUTER.

APPLICATION Flu-:n FEB.14.1917.

1,385,368. Patented July 26, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- LZ/ZfFENEEEFZI/:-Un www@ .I '-95 im UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

.LAWRENCE iinIcsoN, or CHICAGOJLLINOIS, AssIGNonTo xLLoee swII'cHiaoAIw AND SUPYLY comm, 'or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,` L'conroimrrion or ILLINOIS.

f IGNITION-DISTRIBUTER.

To all. whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE EniosoN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ignition- Distributers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to current controllers or ignition distributers for use in connection with internal combustion engines that are subject to various and sudden changes of speed, such as automobile engines, and more particularly relates to that type of distribw ter which is provided withfmanual means, in connection with automatic means or by itself,'for advancing or retarding the spark furnished the engine by the distribiiter.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved device rovided with improved manual control mec anism which will obviate the undesirable features found in the present kdevices in use, and embody desirable features and advantages, all in a simple, eflicient and economical manner, and to the accomplishment of this object and such otliers as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the novel details of construction,

parts, and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

For an understanding of my invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated by like reference characters, and in which:

Figure l. is a top view of the distributer of my invention with the cover and dis tributer arm removed.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. l with the cover and the distributer arm in their respective positions.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the distributer with the cup shaped containing casing in section to more clearly show the operating mechanism, certain parts of the distributer being omitted. I

Fig. 4 a sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 showing parts of the manual advance in normal position. t

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4

'i but showing parts of thel manual advance in an operated position.

Fig. '6 is a artial. sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3 showing the manual ad# vence in retarded position.

Patented July 26; 1921.

Application niea'rebruary 14, 1917. serial No. 148,666.

Fig. 7 .is a view similar to that of'Fig. 6 but showing parts of the manual advance in an advanced position.

F1 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of ig. 3 .showing the automatic control mechanism in its normal position.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, but showing the automatic control mechanism in its fully operated position and showing the operating springs of the mechanism in dotted line.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line 10-10 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now more in detail to my invention as illustrated, it comprises in general,' distributer mechanism S, automatic mechanisml A for automatically advancing and retarding the Spark in response to the changes in speed of the motorQand. manual mechanism B for manually advancing and retarding the spark.

The distributer comprises a cup Shaped outer in'closing member l which contains the mechanisms A, B and S, and a cap or distributei head 54. A plate 2 is provided and suitably fastened to the cup ymember 1 by means of rivets El, a spacing washer 4 being placed between the cup member l and the plate 2. A collar 5 is suitably fastened to the cup shaped containing member i. by means of Staking, and forms a bearing for the distributer shaft 6. The plate 2 serves as a mounting member for fastening the distributer to the engine' base by means of bolts or other suitablemeans. The upper portion of the distributer shaft 6 extends into the casing l and the lower portion extends down through the bearing 5 and is suitably connected to the engine shaft through the train of gearing of the necessary ratio to rotate the distributer in proper cycle.

Referring first to the automatic mechanism A for automatically advancing and retarding the spark in response to the changes in speedl of the engine, it comprises a circular mounting plate 7 that carries the mechanism which brings about the automatic advancing and retarding of the pair ,of semi-circular laminated of rivets. To limit the outward movement of the weighted members 10 and 11, a pair of pins 12 and 13 are provided, staked to the said weighted members 10 and 11 and extending downwardly through circular openings 14 and 15 in the circular plate 7. Loosely surrounding the upper portion of the shaft 6 is a cylindrical sleeve 16 which abuts against the plate 7. Surrounding thc upper portion of the sleeve 16 is a collar 17 which rotatably supports and forms an upper bearing for the sleeve 16. The collar 17 is suitably staked in an annular recess in the bottom portion of the cupshaped member 18 which cup shaped member 18 carries a set of interrupter contacts that will be hereto the bottom of the sleeve 16 is'a plate 19 having extended bifurcated ends into which the pins 12 and 13 of the weighted members 10 and 11 fit.

To permit the weighted members 10 and 11 to move outwardly in the desired manner, thereby advancing the spark a proper amount, I provide a pair of relatively light coil'spring members 20 and a pair of relatively heavy spring members 21. Secured to the vbottom of the circular plate `7 by means of screws 22 is a pair of U-shaped members 23 and 24. One leg of each of the U-shaped members is arranged to receive one loop of the lighter coiled springs 20. A semi-circular recess is provided for each of the other legs 25 of the U-shaped members 23 and 24, through which extend the cylindrical members 26 which are provided with hexagonally shaped heads 261. Each of the cylindrical members 26 is threaded to receive one end of each of the light and one end of each of the heavy coiled springs 2O and 21, respectively. The opposite ends of the heavy coiled springs 21 are fitted in groovesl cut in the staked pins 12 and 13. The coiled springs and the cylindrical members 26 are so arranged that when the wei hted members move outwardly through t e influence of centrifugal force, the tension of the light coiled springs 20 is first acted upon until the hexagonal portion of the cylindrical members 26 engage the legs 25 of the U-shaped members 23 and 24 at which time the heavy coiled springs 21 come into operation, as the weighted members 10 and 11 move on outwardly. By. this method of increasing the spring tenslon that operates upon the weighted members the desired amount at the desired time, the sleeve member 16 can have its relation to the distributer shaft changed in the desired manner as will be more fully hereinafter explained.

Mounted Within the cup 18 and secured by means of screws 30, 31, and 32, is a contact carrying ring 33. The contact ring is insulatedfrom the cup 18 by means 0f a layer of insulation 34. A pair of interrupter arms wise in the upper portion of the sleeve 16 are ,a number of slots 49 that extend through 35 and 36 are insulatingly pivot-ed opposite each other to the contact carrying ring 33, andattached to the free extremity of each of the interrupter arms 35 and 36 is a mov-V able contact 37. To yieldingly hold the interrupter arms 35 and 36 in their normal osition, leaf springs 38 and 39 are rovi ed, each of the said springsbeing provided with a hooked end that fits around a pin 40 in its interrupter arm and is then bent around the pin 200 that pivots its interrupter arm and lies against the inner surface of the cup 18. Formed integrally with the contact carrying ring 33 is a pair of raised arms 41.and 42 each of-said arms 41 and 42 carrying stationary contacts 43 and 44, respectively. The inafter fully described. Securely fastened contacts 43 and 44 are adjustably secured to the said arms by means of threaded studs 45 and lock nuts 46. The movable contacts 37 normally engage the said stationary contacts 43 and 44. The upper reduced portion of the sleeve 16 is drilled and tapped to receive a screw-threaded member 47 that is provided with a tapered head 48. Cut lengthinto the, drilled and tapped hole. Loosely surrounding the upper portion of the sleeve 16 is mounted a timer cam 50 which is provided with a number of ribs 51 equal in number to the number of explosive chambers or cylinders of the engine. The timer cam may be adj ustably secured in any position by tightening the screw 47 which operates through the medium of its tapered head to press the slotted side pieces 0f the extended end of the sleeve 16 outwardly to securely hold the said timer in place.

Then the timer cam is rotated, the ribs 51 contact Iwith the nose of the ber members 105 52, which are secured to the contact arms 35,

36 by means of rivets 53 to open and close the contacts 37-43, and 37-44 as the distributer shaft revolves. The cover plate or distributer head 54 which is made of insu- 110 lating material, is provided with an inner annular recess 55 which is adapted to t over the upper edge of the cup member 18 and abuts against the upper edge of the casing 1. A pair of spring 56 and 57 are adapt- 115 ed to yieldingly hold the cap 54 in its posithe said cap from becoming displaced. The

spring 58 which is formed integrally with the spring 57, and which extends upwardly independent thereof, is adapted to lit into a groove (not shown) cut lengthwise in the rim 301 of the cap 54 to prevent the cap 54 130 from rotating relative to the cup-shaped imember 18. A distributer arm 59 is provided with a recess 60 for securing it to the timer cam 50 so that when the timer cam 50 is rotated, the arm 59 is rotated therewith. A cylindrical recess 61 is cut in the upper surface of the arm 59 into which isyleld-- ingly fitted a cylindrical member 62, that is adapted to wipe over the contact terminals 63 of the head 54.

A metallic strip 64 is secured to the upper surface of the arm 54 by means of a screw 66 and forms electrical connecting means for the contlact terminal 62 to the contact pin 67 whic lis carried bythe distributer ca 54. The contact terminal studs 63 extenld through the upper surfacel of the distributor cap 54 into position to be engaged by the )Contact button 62 as the arm l59 is rotated.v 20* The threaded 'ends of the terminals 63 constitute the secondary terminals that connect to they cylinders that contain the explosive mixture ready for firing. At the same time that the contact button 62 is rotated over the terminals 63, the cam 50 is of course operated to open and close the contacts 37 and 43 and 44 to send impulses through the primary winding of the induction coil. v

Referring now to the manual spark ad vance mechanism B for advancing or retarding the spark in the desired mannelgit comprises a plate member 70 having extended arms 7l and 72 and provided with an an nular recess-.201. fA second plate member 74 provided with an annular orifice is staked to a collar 75, which collar 75 is pinned to the shaft 6 by means of the pin 76. The annular recess 201 of the plate 70 is olf-set slightly for purposes that will be hereinafter more fully described. The arm 71 of the plate 70 is pivotall secured to the plate 7 y means of astud 7 which is staked to the plate 7 and has its other end threaded to receivea nut 78 thereby rotatably the plate 70 to the circular plate The two plates 70 and 74 are connected by means of a stud 79 which passes through suitable openings in the arms 72 and 80 of the plates 70 and 74. A spacer washer 81 is provided and placed between the arms 72 and 80 to separate them, and a nut 82 is provided having screw-threaded enga ement with the stud 79 to hold the plates 0 and 74 in operative relation with each other. A collar 85 is also provided which is suitablynonrotatably mounted uponi the shaft 6. The collar 85 is rovided with any upper portion shaped like t e4 frustum of a cone and is ro- .vided with longitudinal `grooves 86`1nto .which the ends 87 of pin 88 set,.thus permittingan u and down movement of the collar 1n relatlon to the said shaft 6 but pre-' venting rotation thereof. The lower portion A 851.ofthe collar 85 is provided with a groove 90, Yand a clrculer collar 203 is pinned to' givoting the lshaft 6 by means of a pin 204 to limit the downward movement of the collar 85. The collar 203 is provided with a bearing surface 205 which engages a bearing surface of the collar 5. A pair ofangularly shaped members 207 and 208 are riveted to the cup member 1 and are provided with circular orifices through which passes a bolt 93 for pivotally supporting a Y-shaped member 92.

nut 96 is provided which has screwthreaded engagement withl the bolt 93. The arms 97 and 98 of the Y-shaped member 92 which extendinto the cup 1 are' provided with rollers 99, 100, the saidllrollers fitting into the groove -of the collar 85. The Y` shaped member 92 has an arm 101'for m'oving the Y-shaped member 92 about its pivot 93. A leaf spring 112 is provided for maintainin the normal relation between the platesg70 and 74 when the member 85 is in its lowerrnost position, i. e., the spring`112 tends to turn the collar 75 and the plate 74 in a counterclockwise direction and causes the inner bearing surface of the orifice in plate 70 to engage the cone shaped portion of the collar 85. A screw -211 is provided for fastening one end of the spring to the collar 7 5; the other end of the spring engages the I post 77. When the shaft is rotated, the cone shaped collar 85 is carried with the shaft and is held from moving vertically by means of the rollers 99 and 100 of the Y-shaped member. The Y-shaped lever is connected by means of a rod or other suitable connecting means to a spark controlling lever which is generally mounted in a position to be easily accessible to the operator of the fastened to the circular plate 7 by the stud los 77. The circular plate operating rotates the l sleeve 16 which is staked to the plate 19 and the bifurcated end portions of the plate 19 engage the pins l2 and 13. Thef rotation of the sleeve' 16 causes the timer' cam to interrupt the timer contacts to make and breakv a circuit through .the primary of thev induction coil. The rotation ofthe timer camalso causes the distributer arm 59 to b e rotatedythereby causing the contact button 62j to make contact with the contact studs 63 thereby distributing the secondary current-` to" the different cylinders of the engine. As the speed of the en 'ne is increased,A the weighted-members 1 fand 11 move vfoute wardly under the influence of centrifugal force, causing pins 12 and 13 'to move outwardly'there y causing the transverse plate 19 to be rotated forward-in reference toits relation to the circular plate 7 causing-the cam 16 which carries the timer cam to be advanced thereby causing the interrupter move inwardly thus causing the timer cam to move backwardly inr relation to its position with the distributer shaft, thereby retarding the spark.

Assuming that the operator desires to manually advance the spark fed to the combustion chambers of the engine by the disi tributer, he operates the spark advance lever to cause the connecting mechanism to rotate lever 101 about its pivot point thereby 'slid'- ing the cone-shaped collar 85 upwardly along the sha-ft 6, through the medium 'of the rollers 99 and 100 which fit into the groove 90 of the said collar. The collar 85J and plate 70 are shown in a fully retarded position in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the plate 74 being in a concentric'ally disposed position in relation to collar 85. The collar 85 moving upwardly causes the circular orifice in plate 70 to move from an eccentric position to a'concentric position in respect to the collar 854 and shaft 6, due t0 the engagement of the outer surface of the cone collar with the inner surface of the circular orifice 1n plate 70. When the collar 85 is in its fully advanced position, the opening in the plate is concentric with the collar, as shown most clearly in Fig. 7 and the further upward movement of the collar 85 is prevented by the upper cone portion of the collar 85 engaging an inner cut cone-shaped orifice 115 in the collar 75. The movement of the collar 85 upward causes the arm 80 of plate 74 to be moved in a clock-wise direction in relation to shaft 6 against the tension of leaf spring 112, thereby moving plate 7 in the same direction. The plate7 turning in a clock-wise direction turns the sleeve-16 in the same direction through the medium of thev weighted members that are pivoted thereto, the pins 12 and 13 which are fastened to the weighted members, and the plate 19 that is fastened to the sleeve 16 and has its bifurcated end portions extending around the said pins 12 and 13. The sleeve 16 turning in a clock-wise direction advances the interrupter cam 50 and the spark distributing arm 59, thereby advancing the spark supplied to the cylinder of the combustion engine. If the engine speed is 'now varied at any time, the weighted members will operate to either advance or retard the spark from gular position of said circuit controlling deits advanced position. v l

Should the operator now wish to retard the spark, he causes the collar 85 to move downwardly, thereby permitting'the spring 112 to move the plate 7 in a counterclockwise direction. The plate 7 rotating in a counter-clock-wise direction moves the interrupter cam 50 and distributer arm 59 in a counter-clock-wise direction through the medium 0f the before-explained connecting mechanism, thereby retarding the spark by changing the angular position of the interrupter cam 50 and distributing cam 59 1n respect to shaft 6.

lWhile I have described one form of mechanism well adapted to accomplish the objects sought, it is to be understood that various other forms might be utilized to accomplish the desired results. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact structure as shown, as many changes and modifications may readily suggest themselves, but I aim to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

' What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In an electric current controller, the combination of a driven rotary member, of a contact operating device rotatable therewith, an arm secured to said rotary member, a second arm pivotally secured to said first arm and mechanically connected to said contact operatin device, and a longitudinally movable mem er adapted to move said second arm to change the angular relation between the contact operating device and the rotary member.

2. A device of the character described including a rotary element, a circuit controlling device rotatable with said rotary element, mea-ns for changing the angular relation between said rotary element and said circuit controlling device, said means 1ncluding a conically shaped member slidable longitudinally of said rota-ry element and a -cally disposed orifice for said second plate,

a slidable element provided with a wedgeshaped surface for engaging a portion 0f the inner surface of said orice',.means for longitudinally operating said slidable element to cause the orifice in said second plate to move from its eccentric position to a concentric position, thereby changing the anvice with relation to said shaft.

4. An electnc current controller includt cured to said rotary member, a second arm pivoted to said first arm and mechanically linked lwith said contact operating device, and a longitudinally movable member for moving saidl second arm in relation to said first arm,lthereby changing the angular relation between the contact operating der vice and the rotary member.

5. A device of the character described including a rotary member, a spark-distributing contact rotatable therewith, an a'rm secured to said rotary member, a second arm pivoted to said first arm and mechanically connected to said spark-distributing contact, y

and a slidable member adapted to change the angular relation between said arms whereby said second arm operates to change the angular relation between said distributing contact and said rotary member.' o

6. A distributing device of the character described including a rotary driven shaft, a distributing contact rotatable with said shaft but adapted to be angularly moved with relation to said shaft, an outwardly extending arm secured to said shaft, a plate pivoted at one end to said arm and provided with an eccentrically disposed circular orifice, connecting mechanism for connecting the other end of said plate to said distribut ing contact, a slidable member provided with a conically-shaped surface for engagement withl a portion of the inner surface of the said eccentrically disposed orifice, and` means for moving said slidable member,

thereby causing the orifice in said plate to assume a concentrically disposed position `changing the angular position between said distributing contact and said rotary member. 7 An electric circuit controller including a shaft, a sleeve adapted to t over the 'extended end of the shaft, a distributing con- 4tact carried by said sleeve, a pair ofplates connected together and having their free ends'connected to the said shaft and sleeve, respectivel a longitudinally movable memdsed with a wed e-sha ed surface changing the angular relation between said f plates and consequently the angular relashaft.

tionbetween said distributing `contact and Y "8. A distributing Vdevice of theclass described including a rotary shaft, a s arkA distributing member carried by said s aft,

.automatic means for changing the angular relation between said shaft and saidl spark distributin member thereby advancing and retarding t e s ark, a plate secured to said shaft, va secon plate pivote'd to said first plate andmechanically connected to said ,distributing member, and a slidable memberA manually controlled for changing the angular position ofl Said secondplatezin referplates, thereby ence to said lrst plate thereby changing the angular relation between said shaft and said distributing member causing the spark to be advanced and retarded.

9. A device of the character described including a rotary member, a contact operating device rotatable therewith but adapted to be moved angularly with relation to said rotary member, a link connecting said rotary member and said contact operating device, a longitudinally movable member provided with a wedge-shaped surface for coperation with said connecting link to change the angular relation between said rotary member and said contact operating device, and manual means for moving said wedge-shaped member.

10. A device of the character described inl cluding a rotary member, a contact operating device rotatable therewith but adapted to be moved angularly with relation to said rotary member, a link. connecting Vsaid rotary member to said contact operating device, a longitudinally movable member provided with a wedge-shaped surface for cooperation with said connecting link to change the angular relation between said rotary member and said contact operating deadapted to be angularly moved with rela- 4tion to said shaft, a member secured to said rotary driven shaft and associated with said contact operating device, a slidable member providedwith a conically shaped surface or engagement with said member for changing the angular relation between said rotary driven shaft and said contact operatiu de-V vice, and means for moving/,said sli able member.

12. A distributingv device' of the class described including a rotary shaft, a contact operating device carried b adapted to have its angular relation with said shaft changed, a mechanical link pivotally secured to said rotary Shaft and mechanically associated 'with said vcontact operating device, and a-'longitudinally movable5 member provided with a wed e-shaped sur.

A operating device carried y said shaft and said shaft "and 13. A distributing device of the` class de-l scribed including a rotarv shaft, i contact adapted to have its angular relation with said shaft changed, av mechanical link pivotally secured to said rotary shaft and mechanically associated with said contact operating device, a longitudinally movable member provided with a Wedge-shaped surface for engagement with said mechanical link for turning the same about its pivoted point, thereby changing the angular relation between said rotary shaft and said contact operating device, an annular groove formed in said longitudinally movable member, a yokel provided with end portions that lit into said groove, and means for moving said yoke.

14. A distributing device of the character described including a rotary shaft, a contact operating device adapted to be rotated when said shaft i's rotated but adapted to be moved angularly With relation to said shaft, a mechanical link pivotally secured at its one end to said rotary shaft, and having its other end mechanically connected With said contact operating device, and a longitudinal movable member having a Wedge-shaped surface adapted to engage said mechanical link and to move the same about its pivoted point When said longitudinal member is operated to change the angular relation of said contact operating device with said rotary device.

15. A distributing device of the character described including a rotary shaft, a. contact operating device adapted` to be rotated when said shaft is rotated but adapted to be moved angularly with relation to said'shaft, a mechanical link pivotall secured at its one end to said rotary sha and having its other end mechanically connected with said contact operating device.\ a longitudinal movable member having a Wedge-shaped surface adapted to engage said mechanica-1V link and to move the same about its pivotedpoint when said longitudinal member is o erated, an annular groove formed in said longitudinally movable member, a yoke provided with end portions that t into said groove, and means for moving said yoke, thereby changing the angular relation between said rotary member and said contact operating device.

Signed b me at Chicago, in the county of Cook an State of Illinois in the presence o f two Witnessea g LAWRENCE ERICSON.. Witnesses:

G; A. GANocHowsKI, MARIE BREEN. 

